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Competitors turn allies: Inside the Reflect, Creative Realities merger

The merger of two heavy hitters in the digital signage industry made headlines last week and sparked a few questions, most notably, why now?

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November 23, 2021 by Kevin Damask — Editor, Digital Signage Today

The merger of two heavy hitters in the digital signage industry made headlines last week and sparked a few questions, most notably, why now?

Reflect Systems, Inc. and Creative Realities, Inc. (CRI) have joined forces, but will use the Creative Realities name going forward. The announcement came late in the day on Nov. 12.

The merged company's headquarters will be maintained in Louisville (CRI's current headquarters) with additional offices in Dallas. The merger won't officially go into effect until early 2022.

Summers

Reflect CEO Lee Summers will remain with the company, leading its AdTech ventures, including assimilation with supply side platforms and exchanges. Summers, in an email interview with Digital Signage Today, said Reflect and CRI have been friendly competitors for several years. They decided that instead of continuously butting heads in the competitive digital signage world, it made more sense to combine efforts.

"In 2019, I had the opportunity to visit the CRI campus and further identified the complementary strengths of both organizations working together," Summers said. "As both companies maneuvered out of the pandemic, conversations picked back up to determine if there were indeed synergies between the organizations. As we dug deeper, it became clear this was an ideal next step. It has been a smooth process, and we are looking forward to seeing the vision through."

Rick Mills, currently serving as the CEO of CRI, will take the same position with the combined company. Mills said the merger provides an opportunity to help retailers, quick service restaurants and convenience stores, which are continuing to invest in physical locations to improve customer experiences, especially as the industries rebound from COVID-19.

"Our combined resources allow us to do that at scale across the U.S. and Canada," Mills said in an email to DST.

Looking ahead to 2022 and beyond, Mills outlined the following key goals for the merged entity:

• A seamless consolidation process so employees and customers experience minimal disruption.
• Significant revenue growth in the enterprise customer segment, such as customers where each location has 20 or 30 display screens.
• Widespread adoption of CRI's media services, including the utilization of AdLogic by a number of customers as the company leverages its media sales capability across those additional customers.

CRI, founded in 1997, is an information and technology services provider, focusing on planning, design, content, integration, digital strategy, wayfinding, and digital shopper marketing. Reflect, formed in 2001, specializes in interactive applications, in-store digital media, digital signage and advertising networks, outdoor media, wayfinding, CMS, ad-trafficking software, content creation and other digital signage services. Reflect's products include software platforms RelflectView and AdLogic.

Mills

In a press release, Summers said AdLogic has grown in popularity among DOOH advertisers, generating about 1 billion ads per month.

"Combined, we offer some of the most comprehensive digital signage and media solutions available in a powerful one-stop shop for customers," Summers said.

After the merger is complete, CRI will offer several new services, including menu board software via CRI Clarity platform, digital signage software-as-a-service from ReflectView and Reflect Xperience, DOOH advertising solutions through AdLogic, engineering design and planning, installation services, IPTV streaming, and post-deployment support.

"We have identified our media sales teams and AdLogic has been significantly underserving our customers and the industry," Summers said. "We believe there is a greater opportunity to compete in this space as a focused vertical, and I will be leading that initiative."

One of the primary reasons the company will use the CRI name is that CRI has a "wider net for future growth," according to Summers. Reflect, known for its tech products, won't be totally abandoned, however.

"Think 'CRI powered by Reflect,'" Summers said. "Something like that."

About Kevin Damask

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